DEC. 6: Today you'll complete your in class formal essay (Paper #4). You will have the opportunity to take a Bonus Quiz to improve your classwork average. Review the various concepts we studied and applied throughout the semester.
DEC. 4: This week you will be writing an in-class formal essay, which you will complete over two class periods, as your final assignment for the semester. This paper will count as Essay #4 (see syllabus). Although the exact topic will be "impromptu" the general subject will be an exploration of the relationship between high school and college life. You will have the opportunity to choose whether you want to write expressively, objectively, or persuasively. On 12/6 you will be given the opportunity to take an optional bonus quiz to boost your classwork grade. The quiz will test your understanding of the various concepts we studied and applied this semester.
NOV. 29: Your casebook project is due. To assemble your casebook, follow the "Casebook Preparation Checklist."
NOV. 20: By today you should have completed a draft of your Casebook Introduction and drafted three Abstracts for the three sources you selected for your casebook. Peer review these completed parts of the casebook in class together. Also in class, you will plan and/or draft your Casebook Conclusion, an argument that takes a position on the issue your casebook explores. Review the updated Casebook Assignment Schedule.
NOV. 15: By today you should have completed a draft of your Casebook Introduction as well as three "EVALUATION OF SOURCES" worksheets for the three sources you selected for your casebook. These will help you draft your abstracts in class. In class you should be ready to peer review your Introduction and review your source evaluations.NOV. 13: Continue to follow the assignment sheet for the Argumentative Casebook project. Bring the sources you located to class to begin working on the "Evaluation of Sources" worksheets distributed in class at the library last Wed.
NOV. 8: Class will meet in the Multimedia Classroom at the library (ground floor, to the left of the stairway).
NOV. 6: Review the assignment sheet for the Argumentative Casebook project. Explore the issues you're interested in by doing informal, prelimnary research. Each group (or individual) will be required to choose a definite topic in class on Monday. Also, find an editorial from a newspaper or magazine that you think demonstrates the writer's attempt to be persuasive (successful or not).
NOV. 1: Review chapter 3 and 9 in the Bedford Guide and the file "Approaching Persuasive Writing" for a reading quiz.
OCT. 30: Read chapter 9 in the Bedford Guide as well as the file "Approaching Persuasive Writing." Complete the exercise on idenifying the three appeals you began in class last Wednesday while watching An Inconvenient Truth. Also, brainstorm a list of debatable issues you may want to write about in an argument paper.
OCT. 25: Read chapter 3 in the Bedford Guide for today.
OCT. 23: Essay #2 is due today. Submit your final draft in a two-pocket folder with the ad(s) you've analyzed as well as the summary homework assignment.
OCT. 16 and 18: No regular class today. Group conferences are scheduled instead. Consult the schedule distributed in class for your time. Bring five copies of your essay draft.
OCT. 11: Reading: Review readings so far; go back over areas you don’t understand. Writing: Respond to the prompt at the Writing Forum (due Wed. 9/10). Also: Bring in a collection of interesting advertisements from magazines you have, your parents or friends have, or that you find in the library. Look for ads for products that sell “cool” if you can. Look for groups of ads (you create the thread): Ads that market cool; ads that function in a similar ways; several ads from a single campaign; a set of ads from one source; a set of ads targeted at a particular audience; etc.
OCT. 4: Read the three handouts articles in class, annotating as you read to highlight key ideas. In addition, write a brief summary of each article. After you'e worked with the articles search for sample ads to bring to class. You can look for ads that market "cool" to teens, or a set of ads that function in similar ways, or for a set of ads from one source. Glossy ads in magazines work best for this assignment. Use the library's magazine collection (photocopy) if you don't have any magazines yourself. Bring at least one ad to class, but a group is preferable.
OCT. 2: Complete your Reflection Exercise if you weren't able to finish it in class (email it to me or bring it to class). Read chapter 21 in The Bedford Guide. Respond to the prompt in the online writing forum. I will ask you to reflect on your thoughts about The Merchants of Cool, which we screened in class on Wed. 9/27. If you missed it in class or would like to either view it in part or in its entirety again you can access the video and supplemental resources (freely) online.
SEPT. 27: Bring your completed final draft of the Essay #1: Recalling an Experience to class. Your paper should be typed, double spaced. Hand in all your completed work on this paper in a pocket folder containing your prewriting work, your rough draft, the "note to the writer" from our workshop, and your final draft with a cover sheet. Don't forget to give your essay a title.
SEPT. 25: Bring a typed double-spaced draft of your essay to class for a peer review. This may be a first draft, but it should be a COMPLETE draft (introduction, body and conclusion should all be present). When the paper is due on Wednesday, Sept. 27, the length should be 3-5 pages.
SEPT. 20: Select your topic for the "Recalling an Experience" essay (p. 54-55 of The Bedford Guide.). Once you have your topic, define your purpose, audience, and tone. Review chapter 16 in the Bedford Guide and write an effective THESIS and "blueprint" for your paper using one of the planing stategies discussed in chapter 16. Bring your work to class.
SEPT. 18: Bring in your completed “generating ideas” exercise: pick one or more strategies described in chapter 15 and use it to explore ideas for the expressive paper. (The assignment, remember, is on p. 54-55 of The Bedford Guide.) Read chapters 16 and 17 in The Bedford Guide. Respond to the prompt in the online writing forum. I will ask you to write about a “defining moment.”
SEPT. 13: Review the several short stories and poems about identity available as PDFs in the “Virtual Notebook" and read the two handouts I distributed in class on Monday ("Exhausted By Risk" and the two poems, "Rain" and "The Unknown Citizen." Consider how these diverse works all relate to the theme of "identity." Complete the writing forum assignment "Describe an Object" by Tuesday, Sept. 12. Review the writing assignment in Chapter 4, "Recalling an Experience" (p. 54-55). That is our assignment for the first major essay, which will be due in the coming weeks.
SEPT. 11: Read the several short stories and poems about identity available as PDFs in the “Virtual Notebook.” Please print the poems for class (not the short stories). Preview the writing assignment in chapter 4, p. 54-55. Respond to the new prompt "Describe an Object" in the online writing forum. This exercise is related to our exploration of the broad theme of "identity," a significant theme related to the first formal paper you'll write in the coming weeks.
AUG. 30: Read chapter 1 in The Bedford Guide. Check your email for an invitation to join our online discussion forum. When you receive the email, follow the instructions for signing up. When you arrive at the writing forum, respond to the instructor's post. Remember that class is on a "delayed opening" schedule for Wed., 8/30--our class will meet at 11:00am instead of 10:10am. In class on Wed., I'll ask you to produce an essay on a broad topic TBA.